A day late but here is a new thread for the new season!
What are everyone’s predictions?
Thread title changed for new season
The Germans were the favourites, and definitely the best team of the tournament won, but I was very disappointed for Serbia.
USA already making their excuses! They were all sick!! Eejits.
Such a great tournament. I can’t wait for the Olympics.
The yanks don't really care about any international tournament except the Olympics.
You'll have Curry, Tatum, James, Durant, Booker, Lillard. I almost forgot Davis.
Joel Embiid might decide to play for them, he hasn't ever played international basketball to this point.
Anyway I didn't watch any of the Worlds. I'd be surprised if any of the above named were there. Did they have a good team there?
They thought they did.
Kevin Porter Jr. has been charged with beating and choking his girlfriend.
The NBA itself has taken over the disciplinary proceedings instead of the Rockets.
The next tweet I saw was the Spurs waiving Cam Payne.
Safe to say Payne will be a Rocket soon and Porter Jr. is done this time.
For anyone that's interested, you can sign up to Euroleague TV for the 23/24 season dirt cheap if you use a vpn and set it to Turkey. Also, you only need the vpn for the subscription part. I paid 17 or 18 euros for the season which was dirt cheap
I’d say they had a pretty good team: lost a close semi final; lost the 3rd place game in overtime. Edwards, Reaves and Bridges all had fine tournaments.
But if you dislike USA basketball, all the defeat has really accomplished is ensuring they come back with the A team and take what is rightfully there’s in Paris next year.
Has anyone read Jeff Benedict's book about LeBron?
As always with Benedict, it's absolutely superb and on par with his book about Tiger Woods. It's certainly not a puff piece as any readers familiar with Benedict's past work would attest to.
Some great insight into LeBron from his childhood, high school career and NBA and it has definitely made me look at him in a different light.
I'm about halfway through (so into his 3rd NBA season with the Cavs) and can't put it down.
It's better for the sport in general though if they do bring the a team. They will more than likely win but it will benefit the rest of the world to see where they are in comparison to the states by playing them and learning from it. It’s a win for everybody if they do come in my opinion.
I tend to agree, yeah. We have been treated to amazing Olympic Finals like 2008 and 2012 where the only winner is the sport.
Yeah it’s good. His book on Tiger is better imo, but the research on LeBron is dripping off the pages.
Reaves? He got absolutely taken to town in the Lithuania game. It ultimately cost them the game.
Classic LeBron inserting himself into a story again with his announcements about next year’s Olympics. That man craves attention so much his embarrassing.
Note: once again I’m not saying he’s not an amazing player, it’s all this other nonsense that’s irritating and completely unnecessary. Some nice digs at it on the usual podcasts (even Windhorst). But they’re all haters like me no doubt 🙄
I've gone down a LeBron rabbit hole during reading the Jeff Benedict book and really enjoyed watching the above video of a game in which Benedict does a great job of bringing to life in the book.
2002 high school game against Oak Hill.
Knowing what we know now, it's mad looking back and listening to the foreshadowing from the commentators on the call.
Yeah I watched some of those games at the time and read the sports illustrated and ESPN magazine articles. The pressure and foreshadowing was absolutely insane, and seemed so deeply ridiculous and inappropriate. And then he went and exceeded everyone’s expectations somehow. A crazy 22 years.
I know certain people think I absolutely hate LeBron and everything about him but I genuinely don't. I do hate the nonsense and the noise that he manufactures and creates to keep himself in the news and the way he injects himself into stories unnecessarily and the way he makes almost everything about "him", but I've never said he's a bum or a crap player.
Anyway, I'll leave you with two things - a positive and a negative.
The positive: if you haven't seen it, there's a DVD (and I own a copy of this - if I hated him so much why would I buy this?) called "More Than A Game" that chronicles his time in highschool and early years in the NBA that's very good as a basketball documentary. Well worth watching, esp. if you're a fan. Note: I don't know if it's available in European format as I got my copy in the US, but it might be online on Kodi etc. or may even be on the streaming services (but I haven't seen it).
The negative: this kinda nonsense......
Why are you doing this with ice on you knees? Seriously? It's like he's always pushing for/craving that extra attention. He could have iced his knees and worn a pair of long tracksuit bottoms to cover them, but the whole thing is so forced and deliberate it's utterly cringe.
The comments are HILARIOUS. There (on his insta) and elsewhere.
It's very bad.
By all accounts the Rockets aren't waiving him, they want a trade. It's going to be a PR nightmare for them the longer they keep him, and surely no team will trade for him - even at a bargain basement level - as that's just taking on a PR nightmare of their own. I heard a few people trying to rationalise it as "business" but sometimes you just have to take a loss.
The Lillard trade is finally picking up pace again, a lot of speculation that it's happening in the next 24hrs. Phoenix and Toronto both mentioned, as potential tertiary roles in the trade, with a lot of suggestions that Ayton may be headed to Portland.
Nothing solid obviously, for the team's sake I hope it gets resolved before pre-season.
Supposedly the Rockets wete trying to stick Kevin Porter into any deal with anyone to try and be shot of him without having to eat his contract.
And today its gone cold with nothing imminent.
But supposedly the Pacers are now putting forward Hield as a trade piece to become a 3rd/4th team in the trade if required.
Getting Lillard to Miami may be a feckin 30 team trade soon the way rumors are going.
Jeez Austin Rivers is calling in every favour imaginable to get a team, he’s been on 5 of my regular podcasts in the last week. I listened to one and it’s the usual Austin Rivers nonsense so not sure if I can stomach any more. To hear Rivers talk about himself you’d think we’re dealing with prime Jordan.
I wouldn't even put Rivers down as a nice little cog to have on your bench.
Dame has been traded to the Bucks, per Woj
”Lillard goes Milwaukee as part of a 3-team deal with Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 unprotected MIL 1st, and unprotected MIL swap rights in 2028 and 2030 to Blazers. Phoenix lands Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.”
Catharsis.
I'll allow myself to be bitter and say I'm so happy Miami didn't get what they wanted.
As for the return:
This also really blows up all those "saving room for Giannis" plans teams might have been having.
Suns heading for a big auld roster crunch there taking in that many.
Strange Bucks giving away their 2 starting guards for Lillard, leaves a gap another starting guard.
Edit:
Suns have Goodwin and Wainwright on non guaranteed deals so imagine they'll just be cut to make it work.
Such a strange trade on so many levels…..
Going to sleep on it before I give my full thoughts, but I’m not overly keen on it seeing what they’ve given up. 🤷♂️
I love the NBA.
Double checked Woj’s original tweet to make sure it wasn’t a fake account.
All the ‘content’ about Dame and the Heat all summer amounts to nothing. Hilarious.
It would be amazing if Jrue was traded to the Heat haha
I assume Holiday will be gone in the coming days, from what I understand Portland can only trade him now if the trade is considered part of the original Portland-Milwaukee deal, otherwise we'll have to wait a few months.
He's also the kind of player that more teams might be interested in at the deadline when everyone knows how good they are though.
